Watch: James Van Der Beek’s ‘Elle’ Costar Details Late Actor’s Final Performance
When it comes to the case of Elle vs. Legally Blonde, we have no objections.
Twenty-five years after Reese Witherspoon charmed the briefs off of audiences as plucky Harvard Law School student Elle Woods in the 2001 film, the heroine finally has a real origin story that expands upon that pampered pre-Ivy League life as a California University of Los Angeles fashion merchandising major with a 4.0 we know so well.
What, like it’s hard to memorize such details?
In the new Prime Video series Elle, premiering July 1, Lexi Minetree takes on the title role in her high school years, and of course changes had to be made and circumstances created to give the story enough juice for multiple seasons.
And to show you just how valuable that Elle Woods IP can be, Elle has already been renewed for season two.
“The goal was always to keep the optimism of the original character, the joy and the kindness,” co-showrunner Laura Kittrell told E! News, “and making sure those qualities that are inherent to her were always there for us.”
Added co-showrunner Caroline Dries, “The movie is our North star, so we were always deferential to what happened in the movie, tonally and plot-wise.”
But while canon is important, and Elle has all the Legally Blonde Easter eggs to prove it, it’s perfect day to brush up on the key changes that have been made to Elle Woods’ early years, long before she’s welcomed to Harvard:
Amazon MGM Studios
Who plays Elle Woods in the Prime Video series Elle?
Meet self-described “theater kid” Lexi Minetree, whose audition to play the iconic character included a self-produced (as in, not directed by a Coppola) remake of Elle Woods’ Harvard application video. And in addition to being blonde and adorable, there are other ways you’ll definitely recognize the iconic character in her latest incarnation.
The 25-year-old told E! that Witherspoon, who’s an executive producer on the series, reminded her, “The thing about Elle is that, no matter how unkind someone’s been to her, she always takes the high road. She’s never a bully, but she always stands up for herself.”
“And I really took that with me because there’s some meanies in the show or people who misjudge her,” Minetree continued, “but she still shows some kindness and I think that’s a testament to her character. Ultimately she connects with them after and they end up becoming her friends.”
Kimberley French/Prime Video
Does Elle take place in a different location than Legally Blonde?
In Legally Blonde, it’s very key that Elle hails from Los Angeles and grew up in the moneyed enclave of Bel Air. And since she’s about to graduate from an esteemed public university—the fictional California University of Los Angeles is akin to Elle going to UCLA (which is so stately it played parts of Harvard in the film, as did nearby USC)—the sorority president has obviously spent her formative years living in an area where it’s possible on any given day to save Cameron Diaz from buying a hideous orange sweater.
Elle, meanwhile, starts with the Woods family living in sunny L.A.—and then they move to oft-gray Seattle, where the pink-loving title character has to make her way in a high school where grunge, flannel and the color black rules.
“It’s bleak, it’s rainy, it’s cloudy, and that’s what she’s feeling inside,” Dries told TV Line. “But it’s not just the weather. The kids are really anti-establishment, and Elle has never even thought [in that way].”
Jessica Brooks/Prime Video
Who are Elle Woods’ parents in Elle?
There was lots of room for growth here, as Elle’s supportive but unserious parents in Legally Blonde—played by James Read and Tane McClure—are literally named “Elle’s Father” and “Elle’s Mother.”
In Elle, Tom Everett Scott plays plastic surgeon Dr. Wyatt Woods and June Diane Raphael is Eva Woods. Wyatt moves the family to Seattle after he botches a nose job for a high-profile patient and decides it’s best to put some distance between his practice and the Thirty-Mile Zone.
Tracy Bennett/MGM/Kobal/Shutterstock, Jessica Brooks/Prime Video
Is Elle Wood’s pet chihuahua Bruiser in the show Elle?
To help soothe her angst about the impending move to Seattle, Elle’s parents gift her a chihuahua puppy—and yes, it’s supposed to be the Bruiser that’s still by Elle’s side when she gets to Harvard in Legally Blonde (and goes to Washington, D.C., in Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde).
Before passing away in 2016 at the distinguished age of 18, rescue pup Moonie played Bruiser in both films.
Three dogs—Pixie, Cruiser and mostly Bruiser (named as a newborn after he was scouted to be on the show)—play Elle’s beloved companion in the series, while a stuffed animal named Snoozer is his stand-in.
Tracy Bennett/MGM/Kobal/Shutterstock
Is Elle Woods’ future ex-boyfriend Warner a character in Elle?
No, a younger version of Warner Huntington III does not appear in Elle—at least, not in season one. But Matthew Davis, who played that complete bonehead in Legally Blonde, did participate in a June 21 cast reunion panel moderated by Las Culturistas hosts Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers, part of the official festivities leading up to the Elle premiere.
Jessica Brooks/Prime Video, Tracy Bennett/MGM/Kobal/Shutterstock
Does Elle Woods have any legal aspirations in the show Elle?
While there’s plenty to infer about Elle’s future prospects, judging by the local mystery the clever teen helps unravel when she gets to Seattle, she’s all about snagging that summer internship at Cosmopolitan.
And with Elle’s journey underway, read on to see all the TV premiere dates any Cosmo girl should know:
Discovery Channel/Warner Bros. Discovery
Disney
TLC/Warner Bros. Discovery
Prime Video
Netflix
Apple TV
National Geographic/Disney
Apple TV
Netflix
Disney
Disney/Matt Sayles
Sami Drasin/Bravo
Hulu/Disney
Oxygen
ABC/Hearst Media Production Group
Samsung TV Plus
Disney/Maarten De Boer
Discovery Channel/Warner Bros. Discovery
Apple TV
Prime Video/Amazon MGM Studios
ABC/ESPN
Seacia Pavao/Peacock
Netflix
Samuel Dore/Netflix
Disney
Netflix
Disney/Christopher Willard
Paramount+/CBS Studios
